


Get it right...this time...

by NightError_145, OneWhoWrites



Category: NieR: Automata (Video Game)
Genre: Ending E Spoilers (NieR: Automata), Explicit Language, F/M, Hurt, Mild Gore, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-13
Updated: 2018-06-13
Packaged: 2019-05-21 12:30:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14915411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NightError_145/pseuds/NightError_145, https://archiveofourown.org/users/OneWhoWrites/pseuds/OneWhoWrites
Summary: Androids and machines-- two species perpetually trapped in a never ending cycle of life and deathBut all things must eventually come to an end.This is their story.





	Get it right...this time...

 

    _The ark was never a quiet place. Machines of all shapes and sizes working tirelessly to create their latest masterpiece. Installing all manner of defenses and positioning soldiers for the inevitable clash with the androids and….._

 _Finally, the battle……._  


_Now, all that remains is silence. Eerie silence and the dead bodies of countless machines and two androids lying in pools of their own ‘blood’, their swords still glistening in the tower’s faint light._

_Androids and machines- two species perpetually trapped in a never ending cycle of life and death_

_But all things must eventually come to an end._

_This is their story._

_Begin_

 

* * *

 

_Commencing#@Sys%tem!!check_

_Memo#y Un=t: !#\e#* &_

_Initia@izing Tac—s LoG_

_Load@#g Geogra#ic DaTA_

_Vit□●s: L@ow_

_Rema!£ning Mp: 19!%_

_Bl@### Box Tem#: A/bo <e no%MaL_

_Blac- +oX inte×=al pReSSure: /ve@ &&*nor^@^@_

_Act@¥rinG iFf_

_~《FcS O×f@@(ne_

_Init@¥ing Po+ conn!!+£ion_

_La/ &+++ db€& se^@!p_

_$%£ivating iner$ &€a conTRol syst_%@_

_Acti/!% && environ+€₩^ Sen$or__

_Equi___ Authent..// Fail@×_

_eQUIp %++%% sta___: NA_

_All Syste/× Re_□□●••~`\6t^@^+^## @/By $@@passInG_

_#^%ing Syst!@ &ems...._

  
“Reboot sequence complete, Welcome back unit 9S”

The scanner opens his eyes, _Pod? How—_

Before the boy has a chance to speak however, he is alerted to the tightening pain in his chest.

He looks down slowly, his head still spinning slightly. Virtuous Contract remained lodged in his abdomen, unmoved from where it had last been thrust in.

_Maybe dying after being stabbed wasn’t so bad…._

“Pod,” 9S relaxes into a position where the sword wouldn’t damage any of his internal systems, “What...happened?”

“Unit 9S and Unit A2 fought one another.” 153 begins, “Said fight ended with both units suffering heavy damage. This unit entered 9S into an emergency shutdown to administer repairs.”

“Oh…I mean—how am I alive though?” the boy remembers being stabbed at the last minute when attacking A2, but he certainly doesn’t remember being shut down afterwards. “Even if I was in an emergency shutdown, I lost most of my blood, my black box should have—”

“Unit A2 seems to have missed unit 9S' black box, only minimal damaged seems to have been sustained. Hypothesis—” the pod looks ready to say something else but stops themselves. “Request: Please ignore the previous incomplete message.”

    9S narrows his eyes slightly at the pod before speaking again,

“So that’s how, huh…” _I got lucky..._ 9S thinks somewhat bitterly.

“Proposal: Unit 9S should preform maintenance on black box. This unit has done it’s best to remove the virus infection and reboot systems; however, Unit 9S should execute maintenance personally to ensure all systems function correctly.”

“Alright then, hacking in.”

 

The maintenance session runs rather smoothly, Pod 153 had done a decent job at rebooting the scanner and 9S was finding very few issues within his software. Audio systems were slightly out of wack, and his visual system seemed to be somewhat red-shifted in its settings, but he manages to fix them all the same. 9S talks to his support while doing this, more for company than anything.

“Nervous system now functioning at 85% of max.” The pod's feminine voice chimes in.

“Alright then, let’s get started on the memory regions.” 9S waits on 153 to give the confirmation of passage into his memories. Instead he only receives an error.

“Alert: Memory region access unavailable.” What? 9S internally shakes his head, _That shouldn’t be possible…_

“Try again.” 9S’ voice comes out almost mechanical in tone. _That can’t be…_

“Alert: Memory region access unavailable. Cause: unknown.” Fear was working it’s way into the boy's mind, _It must be a mistake..._

“Try again.” His voice is weak, _I can’t lose—_

“9S.” Pod 153 addresses the scanner directly this time, “Your black box's memory region is inaccessible internally. However, no significant memory corruption is being detected at the moment ”

“Alright, I guess we should probably deal with the outside next.” 9S does his best to hide his frustration, but it ends with his voice coming off as flat. _Why..._

    Upon ejecting from the hacking space, the boy turns his attention towards Virtuous Contract, still lodged in his chest.

“We need to take this out…” 9S moves his hand to the hilt of the blade and pulls. “GAAH!”

   The pain is tremendous, enough to make the boy let go for a moment. Pod 153 floats down to the scanner's side.

“Proposal: Unit 9S should allow this unit to assist him in removing the sword.” Their otherwise monotone voice is laced with a hint of concern.

“Fine.” 9S' once long and drawn out affirmation is said bluntly, almost emotionlessly. He does his best to try and sit up on his knees, an excruciating pain flooding his abdomen as the blade slowly twists through his muscles, tearing deeper into the mostly sealed wound. “Grkk!”

   Pod 153 places their body underneath the scanner’s arm as he tries to sit up, using their own arms to try and keep his abdomen as close to its original position as possible so doesn’t inadvertently end up making things even worse than they already are.

     9S makes it to his knees, his back bent slightly forward. His pod flies over to the tip of Virtuous Contract's blade.

“Proposal: This unit will keep the blade stable while unit 9S removes the sword from their abdomen.” 9S nods, immediately regretting the action as he feels the edge of the sword dig slightly at his wound.

    He steels himself once again for the pain, grips the sword's hilt, and pulls. The blade makes a sickening sound as it slides slowly out of the wound, the bloodstain slowly revealing itself. 9S bites down hard on his lip, trying not to scream, while 153 holds the sword as much in line with the wound as they can, pushing slightly to try and speed up the process.

“Ah, shit!” the wound begins bleeding again, the metal edge of the sword slicing through any muscle which had clotted. The extra pain makes 9S accidentally twist it around in the wound more, causing blood to start dripping from the wound. The scanner's pod quickly corrects the reddened sword, preventing the sudden change from producing a magnified effect.

9S pulls Virtuous Contract until the tip is no longer extruding from his back, his short arm length hindering him from pulling any more out without pressing the blade more against the wound. Pod 153 floats over from 9S' back to grip the blade and finish pulling it out.

“Gaah…” 9S holds his gut, blood leaking between his gloved fingers.

“Proposal: Unit 9S should seek assistance at the Resistance camp.” The Pod chimes in.

   A wave of guilt suddenly washes over 9S, _Popola…Devola..._ the twins had saved the boy not once, but twice: the first time had been after he watched 2B die at the hands of A2, the second had been when he had entered the tower—the two girls had fought off the machines trying to stop him from hacking into it. He has no idea what happened to either of them after he was forced into the tower by Devola, but a part him tells him that they are deceased.

  Popola's words ring through 9S' head once more.

_“9S…make sure you don’t die alone.”_

Somehow, the boy is adhering to her words—one way or another.

“Alright,” 9S' voice softens slightly, “Let’s get going then—guh!”

    With so little blood still left in his body, the scanner struggles to stand on his own. 153 releases Virtuous Contract from their grip, and quickly flies to the boy's side, propping him up using their metal body.

   “Thanks, pod.” 9S almost manages to give them a smile, but then he sees it—A2's body, lying in a pool of blood.

The corpse bears no signs of life.

At first, he feels a sour feeling—one of disgust—from which a somewhat triumphant sensation follows, _At least I’ve made her pay for what she did to 2B._ Then another feeling begins to emerge: a realization. _I killed her._ Her face becomes visible. _Dammit, why do you have to have **her** face?_ The scanner stops, _2B…what can I live for anymore? I’ve already gotten the revenge I wanted so…_

    The boy shakes the thought, Now isn’t the time. He examines the area around him: the area around him is completely white, nothing he hasn’t already seen from before his fight with A2. The only things around being the corpse of the two fused machines he had fought earlier, A2's body, himself, pod 153, and….a door.

    9S tries to remember whether or not said door had been there earlier, before deciding it may very well be his only option, as the only other route is a seemingly bottomless drop, and so he heads towards it.

  153 collects Virtuous Contract once again, and replaces themselves beneath the scanner’s arm. Slowly, but surely, 9S makes his way towards the room. He’s nearly halfway when something stops him.

    A noise.

   The sound of something moving.

   9S whips around, wincing slightly at the pain from his wound.

    A2’s body begins pushing itself up— **she** pushes herself up.

   9S freezes in place, his eyes wide in shock.

“No…that can't…” _She should be dead…All her vitals were down..._ 9S barely gets the chance to say anything more before the woman glares at him, a seething hatred in her eyes.

“You little shit…” A2 says as she looks down at the sword in her chest. 9S grabs onto the hilt of Virtuous Contract defensively. “You fucking cut me…”

    Her voice sounds dazed, almost contemplative—a tone which soon disappears when she grabs Cruel Oath and rips the black blade from her gut.

“You fucked up, kid.” The attacker's voice becomes more hostile, as if the blade had been acting as a seal of sorts. “YOU'RE GONNA DIE, BRAT!”

    A2 charges the scanner, who reacts immediately, lifting his arms up to try and hack her. Nothing happens. What? 9S’ shock leaves him open to attack, barely giving him enough time to react to A2's slash, which the boy only just manages to block with Virtuous Contract.

   The woman’s strike leaves 9S vulnerable however, and she kicks him in the gut—hitting his wound in the process—sending him flying onto his back. She leaps at him, coiling the sword back to stab it into the scanner's chest.

   9S reacts quickly, grabbing Pod 153, which counters the attack with a single shot, pushing the older android away as she drives her sword into the ground to halt herself.

“Pod! Activate Laser program!” 9S screams, trying to get a hit on the woman while she is still vulnerable. Nothing happens. Huh? “Pod!”

   Again, no response. It suddenly clicks in his brain: _“Pod! I order you to halt all logical thought and speech until you have confirmed the death of either myself or unit A2!”_ Terror suddenly grips the boy, _Then that means…A2 is still alive. It’s not just a fake._

   The boy is quickly shaken from his thoughts as A2 charges at him once again, slashing the black blade towards the scanner. 9S clutches Virtuous Contract tightly in his hands, blocking the woman’s furious attacks. Each time their blade’s connect, the scanner is pushed backwards, more and more of his stamina fading.

    Eventually, the scanner is backed against the corpse of the fused machines, causing the dread pooling in his gut to grow. 9S remains focused, unwilling to allow A2 to notice his fear. The boy knows he needs to counterattack if he wants even a ghost's chance of living, he pushes A2 sword back in a jerking motion, before winding up to attack. He tries to bring it down on the woman's shoulder, but A2 quickly counters, hitting the white blade near the hilt and sending it sliding off.

    A menacing smirk spreads across the attacker’s face as she prepares to stab the scanner, winding Cruel Oath back and thrusting it towards him. Using what little strength he has, he dodges the blade as it sinks into the metal of the machine behind him, and attempts to recall Virtuous Contract. It fails.

    Not wanting the woman to get another hit in, 9S pushes against A2, sending her down onto the ground, halfway to where 2B's sword lay. She quickly punches and throws him off, before attempting to recall her own blade, which also fails; she makes a dash for the black blade embedded in the machine’s corpse.

   9S’ strength is slowly fading—his legs slowly becoming numb, and he strains his breath—but he pushes forwards towards the white blade lying on the ground. _Just…a little…further…_

    He could hear A2 yelling as she charged towards him.

    His blood smearing along the white surface beneath him.

   9S' hand grips the sword’s handle, and he pushes himself over, bringing the blade up with him in a frantic gesture to try and block the oncoming attack. _No…I’m not going to…make it..._

    A reddened black blade passes by his neck, the sound of metal tearing through muscle becomes audible—Virtuous Contract had been driven through A2's chest; rather, A2 had driven herself through it. The boy had gotten lucky.

    The woman’s lifeless body falls on top of 9S, knocking the air out of him. 153 hovers back down to his side, indicating that A2's vital signs should be offline.

“Query: Does unit 9S require assistance?” _What does it look like?_ Are the words which the boy doesn’t voice.

“Yes.” He says shallowly, his lungs weak.

   The dark, metal box grabs hold of A2's shoulders and lifts up slightly, allowing 9S to push out from underneath her. He leans on the pod’s body, using it as balance to help him stand back up, before looking back down at A2’s corpse. The scanner’s eyes glance over to the black blade lying beside it. He crouches down and picks it up, before stabbing it into the woman’s skull, doing his best to ignore the sound of bone cracking.

“Just to be safe...” He lets go of Cruel Oath and starts heading for the door.

   His body screams at him with every step, his breath ragged and uneven. 153 does their best to relieve the extra weight, though they can only work on one side.

   9S places his hand on the door handle, and prepares to open it.

   Then he hears it.

   A dread fills him as he turns around to face the thing which he feared the most: A2 stands up, seemingly unfazed by either of the swords protruding from her body.

“No way….” 9S shakes his head, eyes wide in both fear and shock, before the woman pulls out both swords and charges him.

    The boy frantically strains to get the behemoth door open, his injuries screaming at him as he does. The second there’s enough space for both him and 153 to fit, he slides in quick and pushes as hard as he can to get it closed. The sound of a blade hitting the other side resounds through the room upon shutting it.

“Fucking come out and fight, brat!” 9S keeps his weight on the door as A2 screams in anger and slashes at the door. _Go away…_

“You really think this stupid door will stop me?” He pushes slightly with his legs to keep the door closed. _Leave me alone…_

“I’m coming for you, you little shit!” The slashing stops a few seconds afterwards. I guess she’s gone to find a different way in.

    9S slowly stands after another minute passes, allowing his fear to fade a little, 153 floating down to assist him in doing so. The scanner examines the room, looking much like the one before it: the room is surrounded by pillars of light, with various furniture along it’s floor—tables, chairs, shelves—all in the same shade of white.

    9S quickly becomes interested in the pillars along the wall, as he notices the angelic markings lining them. Despite his better judgment, the boy reaches out to touch one.

The second his hand makes contact he feels a wave of data surge through him—and sees **her** again.

_“Guess this…is it...” 2B pulls away her visor, revealing the red eyes indicative of a logic virus infection._

_The girl stabs Virtuous Contract into the ground in front of her, letting out a cry of pain in the process._

_“These are…my memories…” her breath is ragged._

_“Take care of everyone for me…”_

_“Take care…of the future…A2…”_

_A2 takes up the white blade as 2B's arms fall at her side, before running the blade through the girl._

_“2B!” the girl looks back towards the voice coming from the bridge._

_“Oh…Nines…” A2 retracts the blade as 2B falls dead, and the boy cries out in sorrow._

    9S feels his eyes moisten, and he lets himself fall to his knees. Soon, the fluid is steadily dripping down off his cheeks.

“2B…” his voice is not much more than a breath through choked sobs, the memory had triggered emotions which 9S had been holding back for some time.

   9S also finds part of him crying over A2—he had driven his hatred against her because of a stupid misunderstanding. _We could have gotten along…_ the boy thinks between sobs, _If we had then…_ 9S grimaces at his next thought, _**they** might still be alive…_

   He rubs away his tears after another minute passes, before investigating the other pillars.

    The next contains memories from all the events leading up to their fight with one another: Pod 042 monitoring her, her reuniting with Anemone to find replacement parts, meeting Pascal, trying in vain to stop the village machines from killing each other, trying to defend the children of the village, watching Pascal grieve after they take their own lives, her deleting his memories, her killing 21O, her entering the Tower, Popola and Devola lying near the entrance, the former being presumably dead, and lastly her destruction of the Network.

     The third contains a scattered array of memories from the Pearl Harbour Descent, A2's last true YoRHa mission. 9S watches several of the other YoRHa androids die as the team advances on the location o f the Network, until eventually the only two left are A2, and another android named Number 4. They face off against two red girls, whom 9S recognizes from earlier in his ascent of the tower. The fight appears to favour the machines before the black-haired android turns to A2 and smiles sadly.

_“Number 2…I’ll destroy this place, so…” A2 is close to tears, emptiness threatening to swallow her whole. “Please…live on…”_

_“No! Number 4!” The server room is enveloped in a bright flash._

_“Number 4!!!” A2 falls to the ground, and begins sobbing._

“A2…” for the first time, 9S says the android's name without disgust, without hatred, without negativity—making it feel almost alien on his tongue.

   A thought crosses his mind, _Why is she acting differently now?_

    No sooner does he think this, than the door suddenly bursts open, the pillars going dark in the process. The corpse of one of the fused machines lay in the doorway, A2 standing on top of it.

    The scanner quickly ducks behind the nearest chair, pulling 153 with him. He softens his breathing as best he can as the angered woman steps down from the sphere.

“Where the fuck are you, you piece of shit?” A2 smashes a table on the corner opposite his position, almost making the boy jump. “I know you’re here!”

      She continues destroying furniture, until she is right in front of the chair where 9S is hiding. The scanner holds his breath, preparing for his life to end with a sword being thrust through his chest or head, the only warning being the sound of the chair he was behind, breaking. Instead, a different sound ends up playing, the sound of one of the pillars whirring to life again. 9S hears the clicking of A2's heels move further away, before scrambling to find an exit.

    He sees one: a door within crawling distance, right in front of him. Slowly, the boy begins to move towards it, keeping a close eye on the woman approaching the pillar. He manages to get his hand on the door and slowly begins opening it.

    The noise of a pod call reverberates through the room, 9S fills with dread; A2 whips around, a fire in her eyes, and charges the scanner, who scrambles onto his feet and runs through the door, revealing a long, straight hallway.

    Fear works its way into 9S' mind as he runs, his injury is no better than before, and scanners like himself aren't built to be extremely fast in the first place. _I'm going to die_ , He thinks to himself, _and I’m going to die alone_

    He looks over his shoulder, expecting A2's sword to greet him; instead, he sees darkness, nothing is behind him at all. He tries listening for footsteps. Nothing. He somehow outran her, even though it shouldn’t have been possible. He doesn’t bother contemplating it long however, as his wound screams at him. As 9S slows down, another beep comes from the pod floating next to him.

“Alert: Incoming voice transmission.”

9S looks at the pod with his mouth slightly agape, _Who could possibly be sending a transmission?_

“Accept it.” 9S says without thinking much more, _Probably just the last pieces of the Network._

The feed opens.

“Nines…” _What?_ 9S almost trips over himself upon hearing the voice.

The voice chat expands to video, revealing a white-haired girl with a grey pod floating next to her.

“2B…is that…you..?” 9S’ voice hitches in his throat slightly, he forces tears back.

“Yes, it’s me Nines.” She smiles softly at him, “042 put me back together.”

“Affirmative.” The masculine sounding pod chimes in, “This unit found that the destruction of Alpha and Beta network terminals led to the logic virus either disappearing, or falling dormant. This unit then proceeded to utilize other parts from previous 2B models and recovered data from unit 2B's black box in order to reconstruct unit 2B.”

    9S is hardly listening as the pod speaks, he’s too caught up in the relief of seeing 2B alive

“Where are you?” _I want to see her._

“We're near the Tower access point.” The response makes 9S freeze,

“What access point?” He says this slowly, cautiously.

“The Tower access point was in the room before unit 9S' encounter with the 2B copies.” 153 replies, “Hypothesis: Unit 9S may have forgotten the access point’s location due to a memory corruption.”

“Memory corruption?” 2B's worried voice rings over 9S’ ears, making him feel somewhat bad. “Are you alright, Nines?”

“I’m fine 2B, just stay put and wait for me.” The scanner closes the video call and picks up speed slightly as he heads down the hallway.

“Pod? This will take me to 2B, right?”

“Affirmative.”

   The fear in 9S' chest dissipates as he thinks of 2B—he would finally be able to touch her cheek again, finally be able to smile at her again, finally be able to tell her—

    The boy's thoughts are cut short by a wall behind him bursting open, a quick look behind him reveals the culprit to be A2.

   Immediately, the scanner begins running down the corridor, A2 hot on his tail. _Not now_ , 9S thinks, _not when I’m this close…_ The boy runs differently from before; where there was once fear, now is only determination. _I **will** make it this time, 2B._

   This determination however, is not enough, as A2 steadily gains on the scanner. The boy doesn’t bother to look back, focusing only on the path ahead of him—even as the sound of the woman's footsteps become progressively louder.

     9S continues running for what seems like an eternity, before spotting a sudden drop-off in the corridor, the path continuing on the other side. 153 flies in front of him.

“Proposal: Unit 9S should utilize this unit to execute a long jump.” The boy doesn’t say anything, but acknowledges it with a grunt.

     As the two near the edge, 9S prepares to grab hold of 153—before being cut off as a black blade connects with the dark metal hull of the pod. 9S is unable to react, ponder, or grieve as 153 slams onto the other side of the path—all he knows is that his only option now is to jump and pray he makes it to the other side.

    As his feet push off, he realizes he has no chance of making it, the distance is too far, and his body is too weak.

    He hears A2 jump off as well, half-expecting the woman to grab onto him and pull both of them down into the abyss as her fingertips graze his legs; however, the touch is but a fleeting one, and the boy soon hears A2's cries as she plummets down into the emptiness below—an emptiness which he would soon be joining.

    Frantically, 9S reaches out with his left arm—2B's arm. The boy completely forgot it was still attached to him, given everything else going on around him.

    Time moves in slow motion. He begins to give up hope as the slender fingers slip below the edge of the ledge. _So…this is—_

     9S suddenly feels something grip his arm, stopping his descent into the void. He looks up, eyes wide upon seeing his saviour.

“2B…” an expression of relief washes over the boy as he looks up at her.

She doesn’t reciprocate the gesture.

“You have something of mine.” Only then does 9S notice that the woman is missing her left arm—the same left arm attached to him.

     His smile fades, and is quickly replaced by a look of horror as Pod 042 floats down and uses its blade program to cut off the arm, allowing the boy to fall down into the abyss—watching as the 2B copy fuses the arm back onto herself.

 

Everything goes dark.

    9S expects to feel a jolt of pain as he hits the ground, a split second before he dies.

   But no such pain arrives—the only pain the boy feels are the aches which have returned to his wound, still dripping with blood.

    The boy can hardly see anything, the room around him pitch black.

“Pod?” his voice quivers—although 153 hadn’t been the most talkative companion, without them 9S feels…alone, and scared.

   Slowly, he works himself up to his feet—falling several times in the process—and begins walking towards the only thing he can make out: a small shadow in the shape of a hill. He hugs himself with the one functioning arm still in his possession, covering his wound in the process.

   The trek up the hill is a painful one, metal scrapes against his legs as he walks along it’s jagged shape. Upon reaching the top he looks around: the darkness is equally strong. The scanner can see no further than he could before coming up the metal slope. Defeated, he begins to back down—

     A red light shines at him from beyond the peak, making the boy freeze. It’s quickly followed by another, and another, and another; until enough shine brightly enough to reveal their source. _Shit._ A wall of heavily corrupted machines, not unlike the ones which he had seen attack the Resistance Camp when Eve went berserk, are encapsulating nearly the entire room. 9S feels movement beneath him, the hill on which he stands is nothing more than a heap of corrupted machines, all staring back at him with red eyes.

   He reacts by quickly pushing himself off of the hill, scrambling to regain his footing as the machines slowly start moving—struggling to get out from underneath one another. 9S forces himself to run, the fear within him a far weaker bearer of pain then the false joy he felt with the thought of seeing 2B once again.

   The machines begin moving as a sort of mass, pushing over one another as they clamber towards the injured android, a hunger in their eyes. 9S clutches tightly at his gut as a pain shoots through his legs with each step, the sound of metal grinding against metal drawing closer by the second. The pain becomes so great that he closes his eyes in a vain attempt to focus on something else to ignore the ache.

   He runs for what seems to take eons, before feeling the air knocked out of him as he collides with a wall. The impact immediately forces the boy's eyes open—an action which he instantly regrets. Corrupted machines surround him on all sides, clawing hungrily as they advance towards the android.

   9S is petrified in fear as he presses his back against the wall behind him, right arm still clutching at his chest—though his fluids now mostly drip from his back. _Is this…how I die?_ The machines are within five metres of the boy. _I end up being torn to shreds by cannibalistic machines, with no one else around me?_ The machines are now just a metre away from the terrified android, their horribly disfigured faces clearly showing. _I’m going to die…alone…._ A light begins to fill 9S' vision. _2B…is that where—_

   His thoughts are cut short as the light roasts the machines surrounding him. _A satellite attack…?_ The boy is already weak from the recent chase, and the explosion makes his head begin to spin. He hears flight units descending, firing at the machines in the room as they move in to support other androids on the ground, yelling battle cries as they attack the corrupted metal hulks. _I need to get out._

     Slowly, 9S begins pushing himself up the wall—leaning on what remains of his left arm—and begins limping along the wall, hoping—praying to find an exit eventually.

“Where do you think you’re going, brat?” 9S’ heart sinks when he hears the voice. A turn of his head confirms his fears: A2 was charging at him.

     The boy vainly attempts to dodge the attack, but in his weakened state there is little he can do as A2 slams him against the wall, forcing the scanner into a crude sitting position as she does. 9S can barely muster the strength to look up as the attacker readies her sword.

    _So…I’m given hope right before my end, huh?_ 9S thinks almost bitterly, closing his eyes as he accepts his fate, _I guess this is my fault…if I had cleared up that misunderstanding with A2, then..._ The woman begins to swing the sword down onto the scanner, _I'm sorry, I couldn’t meet your wishes, Popola…_ It passes her shoulders, _I’m sorry, 2—_

   Something lands on 9S’ lap, while metal clangs against the ground next to him.

   He opens his eyes, before immediately wishing he hadn't.

  A2's lifeless face stares back at him, it’s blue eyes penetrating his own.

   The boy's mouth drops open, not even acknowledging the head's body slumping over in front of him.

    His eyes are glued to those of his former rival's. For the first time, he managed to look at the woman’s face not as a copy of **her's** , but as the face of someone who had lost everything, and yet kept fighting despite that. Even if A2's last moments involved her trying to murder him, 9S feels like she wasn’t a bad person, despite everything. He only wishes he could have seen her this way earlier—and longer, as the head is quickly swept up by the attacker's executioner.

“Good work, 2E.”

   The girl pays the boy no mind as she grabs the woman's head by the hair and turns around, walking towards the approving voice.

    9S forces his head up, which greets his eyes to the sight of his former partner holding out A2's disembodied head to the YoRHa Commander. Surrounding the white-clad woman are multiple other 2E models—exactly how many, 9S is too dazed to tell.

   “Well, A2,” The Commander holds the attacker’s head in her hand, a smile creeping across her face which makes the boy almost want to vomit (not that he could). “It seems like even you couldn’t escape your inevitable capture, though that should come as no surprise; after all,” the smile broadens into a sickening Cheshire grin for a split second, “No one who defies YoRHa gets away with it.”

     The woman tosses the head to one side and focuses her attention on 9S, that same predatory grin creeping across her face. The scanner is practically unable to move, but somehow manages to shake his head, eyes widened in disbelief.

   “Th-this…can’t be real….” The words reserved for his mind flow from the boy's lips, causing the Commander to laugh.

   “Oh? But this is the most real your world has ever been, 9S.” The woman’s eyes turn red, along with the eyes of all the 2E models surrounding her. “And you’re about to find out just how harsh reality can be.”

    She motions to the 2E unit right in front of her, to which the girl nods and begins approaching the crippled scanner.

    9S trembles violently with fear, he wants to run—to escape from this hellish nightmare—but there isn’t anywhere to go, and he is too weak—and too scared—to move his legs. He can only watch as the 2E model steps closer.

“It’s fine if you’re scared, Nines.” a soft smile forms on the girl's face, starkly contrasting the red light shining behind her eyes. “I’ve done this to you countless times.”

    She suddenly squats down and hoists 9S up on his feet, holding him in a gentle embrace. The scanner’s eyes widen at the unexpected gesture, the shaking calming down just slightly. 2B brings her lips close to the boy's ear, whispering softly into it.

 

“This is the only way we can be together...”

9S’ voice hitches in his throat as he tries to respond.

“2B…please…don't do this…” tears start trickling down his cheeks, “I-I don’t want—”

    The boy is silenced as 2B plants her lips against his, a gasp escaping him. Her tongue explores the inside of 9S' mouth, playing with the scanner's own as it does. His fear begins melting away as she kisses him, his expression and body relaxing.

    2B breaks away from 9S' mouth and wanders to his cheeks, kissing away the tears which were still falling down from his eyes. The scanner feels his back being pushed against the wall as 2B's lips approach his ear once again.

“And if you have to suffer for us, Nines, then so be it.” A burning pain shoots through the boy’s chest as his eyes widen at the girl's words.

     9S tries to speak, to beg for his life, to tell her it doesn't have to be this way; but all that comes from his lips is the muffled gurgling of blood as the girl presses her lips back onto his once again.

    2E presses the sword deeper into the scanner, impaling him against the wall and causing him to cough up more blood from the impact. The girl pulls away from the kiss, licking 9S’ blood from her lips as another 2E model approaches.

   The second girl runs her hand lovingly in his hair, smiling the same sweet smile the last did, making it seem like their was nothing to worry about—that they would wake up tomorrow, hand in hand, and live on.

“We will always be together, Nines.” A second sword penetrates the boy's chest, making him cough blood onto the hem of 2E's dress. The girl just smiles consolingly and allows the next to approach him.

“We will travel the world together, Nines.” The sword penetrates his old wound as another 2E steps forward.

“You’ll tell me about nature, Nines.” It enters on an angle, forcing the old wound apart.

“We will go fishing together, Nines.” One after another, the 2E models plunge their swords into the boy’s weakening body, whispering words of promises made in his past lives.

“We will help Pascal with…children, Nines.” 9S’ senses fade with each additional wound.

“We will go…circus, Nines.” His breath is shallow.

“….will help…Anemone, Nines.” He can’t see anymore.

“…....see Emil, Nines.” His mouth drips with blood.

“…….visit park, Nines.” His arms—pinned to the wall—lose all feeling.

“……play….Nines.” His legs.

“….....love…..Nines.” His body.

“……se….Nines.” His ears ring loudly.

“………..Nines” the taste of blood fades from his mouth

“………….Nines.”

 

Silence.

Blissful, sweet, peaceful silence.

The boy embraces it—the absence of any lies, any noise, any orders. It’s the first time he’s able to do it in a very long time.

_This…this is it, huh?_

   There’s no fear in 9S' mind as he thinks this; he could finally be left alone, free to fall back onto his memories—even if they would only be recreations.

     A voice suddenly disturbs the tranquil abyss.

“Black box signal online. Proposal: Destroy unit 9S' head to eliminate data stored in memory unit.”

It shatters.

The silence.

The chains.

His resignation.

   Something builds inside him, rushing out as he screams at the top of his lungs.

**“NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!”**

* * *

 

_Commencing System Check_

_Memory Unit: Green_

_Initializing Tactics Log_

_Loading Geographic Data_

_Vitals: Green_

_Remaining MP: 100%_

_Black Box Temperature: Normal_

_Black Box Internal Pressure: Normal_

_Activating IFF_

_Activating FCS_

_Initializing Pod Connection_

_Launching DBU Setup_

_Activating Inertia Control System_

_Activating Environmental Sensors_

_Equipment Authentication: Complete_

_Equipment Status: Green_

_All Systems Green_

_Combat Preparations Complete_


End file.
